Thursday, June 9, 2016

Michael Johnson on why Korzybski has faded

S.I. Hayakawa

In his post about John Barth (mentioned Tuesday on this blog), Arthur Hlavaty wrote that while a Barth revival may never happen, "I, however, am loyal to many of the dead fads I once followed (General Semantics, Games People Play) ... "

Alfred Korzybski's General Semantics is indeed not the force that it once was, and at Overweening Generalist, Michael Johnson speculates on why the thinker who was a big influence on Robert Anton Wilson, Robert Heinlein and others appears to have faded, in the post, "Why Korzybski Waned: Some Educated Guesses."

I've never read any books about General Semantics. If I'm reading Michael correctly, S. I. Hayakawa's Language in Thought and Action wouldn't be a bad place to start. Michael says it is "a delightful read" and explains the RAW connection to Hayakawa.

2 comments:

I see that Stuart Chase's The Tyranny of Words, which along with Hayakawa's book helped me assimilate Korzybski back in the day, has been reissued in a new, and even Kindle, edition http://tinyurl.com/hywqbzq

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A daily posting from Tom Jackson about my favorite writer, Robert Anton Wilson. I also seek material by or about Robert Shea, Mr. Wilson's collaborator in writing "Illuminatus!" If you have tips, you may write me at tom.jackson@gmail.com. Please put "Robert Anton Wilson" in the subject line.